“So I think he’s on track hopefully to be playing in the first week of the finals. We’ll see how we go. He’s got to tick probably two more boxes, but he’s on the right path.

“I think he’ll train fully next week and hopefully be available the week after - first week of the finals.

“We won’t rush it. We won’t force it. But it’s looking like he might be available.”

Naitanui has played just 18 games in the past three years - including three this year - after suffering two ACL ruptures.

Camera IconNic Naitanui is on track for a finals return.Picture: AFL Photos

It comes as Simpson said he was solely focussed on beating Hawthorn on Saturday night to lock up a top-four finish, rather than the permutations involved in finishing in the top two.

“It’s pretty tight. I mean last year we had to win our last game up in Brisbane to finish second. We’ve got to win this game to finish in the top four. So it’s very very similar. It’s tight for us. I think it’s tight for a few sides,” Simpson said.

“I haven’t quite worked all that (top two) stuff out. Honestly, it’s not just part of how we operate. No doubt someone will tell me what’s going on. And if we need to do something, we need to do something.

“But I think we just need to win don’t we? That’s all we’ll have a crack at at the moment. Teams are playing before us, after us, around us. So don’t worry about it. Let’s just try and win. If we win by a point we’ll take it.”

Simpson expected his players would handle the pressure well given the pressure regular season finishes of the past two seasons.

“They’re a pretty mature group. Every year I think the last game of the year for us has been pretty important,” he said.

“I think two years ago, we had to win by a certain amount to make the eight. That’s different.

“We can control our own destiny this week, so we’ll have a crack at that and we’ll keep moving forward from there.”